In this episode, Konrad Olsson speaks with Stefan Ilkovics, an AI and creativity expert working across fashion, beauty, and luxury. Stefan is currently Creative Director and AI & Innovation Lead at Puig, and co-founder of the generative AI studio Naughty Society. Over the years, he has worked with brands including Cartier, Hermès, A.P.C., Chanel, Saint Laurent, Dior, Nike, and H&M.

The conversation explores where AI stands in spring 2026, how it is changing creative work, and why the real challenge for brands is not speed, but direction. Ilkovics argues that AI should not be treated as a creative force in itself, but as a tool that can extend human vision, if used with discipline. He also reflects on the growing risk of sameness, the future role of creative teams, and why strong brand understanding matters more than ever in an era of unlimited content production.

In this episode, we discuss:

•Why AI should be treated as a tool, not a substitute for creativity

•How fashion and beauty brands can create value with AI rather than simply cut costs

•Why strong creative direction matters more in an age of abundant content

•How brands can stay distinctive as generative AI becomes more widely adopted

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In this episode, we speak with Per Ljungberg, Head of D-Congress, about the evolution of the Nordic region’s largest tech trade show for fashion and retail.

Ljungberg explains why the event is expanding beyond its original focus on e-commerce and retail technology to include branding, culture, and creativity. He also shares the thinking behind this year’s theme and the introduction of a music festival as part of the programme.

In addition, we recap our Transformation Roundtable hosted by our editor-in-chief, Konrad Olsson, in conjunction with the event, where CEOs and senior decision-makers from Nordic fashion brands met with technology leaders to discuss the operational challenges facing the industry today.

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Scandinavian MIND is a media platform and consultancy operating at the intersection of lifestyle industries and tech.

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We speak with Lisa Bergstrand about why sustainability has slipped down the priority list for many brands, what actually happened with EU regulations, and why traceability has become the central issue for the industry.

Lisa Bergstrand is the founder of Bergstrand Consulting and has worked with fashion and textile brands on sustainability strategy since 2017. With a background in design and product development in Paris-based luxury fashion, she now advises brands ranging from early-stage labels to established Nordic companies, with clients including Our Legacy, A Day’s March, and Nordic Knots.

Host:

Konrad Olsson, Editor-in-Chief and Founder, Scandinavian MIND

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Scandinavian MIND is a media platform and consultancy operating at the intersection of lifestyle industries and tech.

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Jacob Lovén is a Swedish tech writer, co-founder of the advisory firm The Perspective, and host of the Retail All-Stars Podcast. In this conversation, we revisit NRF Week in New York and the ongoing industry debate around agentic AI.

During NRF, Löfven hosted a series of live podcast sessions at the official residence of the Swedish Consul General on Park Avenue, featuring leaders from Paul Smith, Lager 157, and Shein.

In this episode, he explains why dominant platforms see shopping agents as a threat rather than innovation, why retailers are hesitating despite sensing a major shift, and why the most immediate impact of agentic AI is likely to happen inside organisations, not in consumer checkout flows.

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Scandinavian MIND is a media platform and consultancy operating at the intersection of lifestyle industries and tech.

Sign up for our newsletter:

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This is the third episode of Retail Eye-Openers, a three-part podcast series produced in collaboration with Impulso. The series explores how data sharing and retailer partnerships drive sell-through and reduce overstock.

In this conversation, Konrad Olsson speaks with Andreas Weitkamp, fifth-generation owner of Schnitzler in Münster, about what genuine partnership between brands and retailers looks like in practice. He explains how continuous dialogue, simple but consistent data sharing, and human presence in the store can transform performance — and why the real bottleneck is not access to data but taking action on it. The discussion also touches on values, longevity, and why a 133-year-old retailer is looking to AI not for hype, but for practical buying support.

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Scandinavian MIND is a media platform and consultancy operating at the intersection of lifestyle industries and tech.

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Connector Studio

https://connectorstudio.io/

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Ben Botas explains how fashion agencies are evolving from sales intermediaries to data-driven partners that align brands and retailers around shared insights and sell-through performance.

This is the second episode of Retail Eye-Openers, a three-part podcast series produced in collaboration with Impulso. The series explores how data sharing and retailer partnerships drive sell-through and reduce overstock.

In this conversation, Konrad Olsson speaks with Ben Botas, founder of the Munich-based agency Ben&, about how his team is redefining the role of the fashion Agent through technology and collaboration. He explains how data-driven decision-making, process discipline, and cultural change are transforming an industry still too reliant on intuition — and why sell-through, not sell-in, is the true measure of success.

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Scandinavian MIND is a media platform and consultancy operating at the intersection of lifestyle industries and tech.

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We speak with Oskar Rundqvist, co-founder and CEO of eComID, about the shift from search-and-filter to conversational discovery, why “the interface becomes the store,” and how brands can retain data, loyalty, and margins with on-site AI agents.

AI is changing how people shop. With large language models introducing in-feed browsing and even checkout, customer journeys risk completing off-site. eComID’s response is to bring conversational discovery onto brand domains and connect first-party signals across a network of retailers, blending size/fit intelligence to cut returns and improve trust.

In this episode, Rundqvist explains why the classic search bar is “on borrowed time,” how cross-brand data can create a shopper “passport,” and why fully agentic purchasing makes sense for staples but not for style-led fashion.

With: Konrad Olsson, Editor-in-Chief and Founder, Scandinavian MIND

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Scandinavian MIND is a media platform and consultancy operating at the intersection of lifestyle industries and tech.

Sign up for our newsletter:

www.scandinavianmind.com/newsletters

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first episode of Retail Eye-Openers, a three-part podcast series produced in collaboration with Impulso. The series explores how data sharing and retailer partnerships drive sell-through and reduce overstock.

In this conversation, Konrad Olsson speaks with Morten Kristiansen, Chief Commercial Officer at the Danish fashion brand Les Deux, about how the company builds its growth on close retailer relationships, a trusted “mothership” of data, and pragmatic technology adoption — and why relying too heavily on data alone can be a mistake.

Host:

Konrad Olsson, Editor-in-Chief and Founder, Scandinavian MIND

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Scandinavian MIND is a media platform and consultancy operating at the intersection of lifestyle industries and tech.

Sign up for our newsletter:

www.scandinavianmind.com/newsletters

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.